MPs have betrayed voters

I note that there have been further revelations concerning MPs' expenses over the weekend.

And doubtless there will be more to come, showing how all the established parties (or individual MPs from those parties) 'milked the system'.

The reason being of course that they all – from all parties – believed that the £60k-plus salary for MPs was not enough to 'live' on but were afraid to say so, and there was a conspiracy between them all to "bung it on the expenses".

The honourable exceptions to this were those few left wing Labour MPs who, in the 1980s, refused lavish expenses AND stood as a worker's MP on a worker's wage. Dave Nellist in Coventry and Dennis Skinner in Bolsover were examples.

Today, in the Euro elections in June, the "No2EU, yes to democracy" trade union backed candidates standing in all areas following that honourable tradition. And how many other candidates, from any of the parties, can truly claim to be honourable in relation to claiming expenses?

Phil Bishop, Seymour Road, Easton.

HOW those directly involved in the abuse of public funds, and those of their colleagues who are not prepared to condemn them, can look us in the face and blame it all on "the system" beggars belief.

Just how stupid do they think the electorate are? This scandal is not about a flawed system, it's about deeply flawed individuals.

We elect MPs not just because of their political views, but also for their personal qualities. We are entitled to expect them to behave responsibly, and to exercise good judgment. None of them was forced to claim anything by way of expenses, they all chose to do so. The truth is that many of those claims were morally indefensible.

Let me make it plain that I am not suggesting that any of our local MPs will be implicated when all the details ultimately become available – although (allegedly) billing the taxpayer for horse manure would take a bit of explaining.

Nevertheless, it seems to me that so many of our present MPs, and Government ministers, are tainted by this scandal, that we must now have the opportunity to rid the House of Commons of all those who have disgraced themselves and their office.

They have greatly damaged public confidence in the political process, and that damage cannot be repaired until they are thrown out of public life. How could we ever trust them again?

I tried to register an 'online' petition with the 10 Downing Street website, calling on Gordon Brown to call a general election so that the people can have their say. Sadly, the 'powers that be' refused to register the petition – I can't imagine why?

Kelvin MacDonald Fraser, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset.

WHO do I get in touch with to get MPs and other Government officials sacked for taking our taxpayers' money and spending it on themselves?

They say they are within the law but if they can't live on their flat salary, they have no respect for their voters.

Other people have got to travel to their jobs. They don't get expenses or second homes.

Let the MPs come down to earth and see if they can survive on our pensions and wages. We pay their wages so we should dictate what they get paid.

The same with banks. We pay their wages, we own their banks so who are they to take large bonuses for a job so poorly done?

Sack the lot of them!

Reginald King, Fishponds.

THE Scottish Parliament, soon after it was set up 10 years ago, introduced an open and honest system for paying MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament).

That is in stark contrast to the shenanigans at Westminster. Since Margaret Thatcher's time in office, Westminster MPs have benefited from a hidden system of remuneration.

Rather than clearing this up, things seem to have become worse under New Labour, who have had a decade to do something about the situation, although it was Labour's Freedom Of Information Act which has allowed a light to be shone on what has been going on.

Unfortunately, their government then tried to exempt MPs' perks from that act. The latest wheeze to privatise the setting of MPs' remuneration looks like a sly move to keep the information away from public scrutiny once again.

Scotland has abolished the allowances for second homes which have proved so profitable for Westminster MPs, many of whom seem to have become property developers on the back of these allowances.

Members of all three big parties have had their snouts in the trough to some extent or other. A Conservative member of the House of Lords is calling for a general election to clean out the existing House of Commons. But it will be just the same people who will stand for election.

For Zeaxland-Wessex, there is a way out and that is to repatriate governance from Westminster and to put it in the hands of a Wessex Parliament. Wessexers could then ensure that at least the remuneration of MWPs would stand up to scrutiny as well as that of MSPs.

T R Spratt.

COULD we have sight of Bristol City councillors' expenses claims?

I seem to recall £50,000 paid to organisers of a marine festival a while ago.

It would be interesting to see exactly what claims are made each year.

M Green, Bristol.